Natural Methods keeping Sheep Hooves worn down...

Hi to all,

I was wondering if there was some other method than trimming of sheep's (and goat's) hooves, that might keep their hooves worn down naturally. Im thinking some sort of abrasive path that they are required to run daily, perhaps paved with rough cut stone, to stimulate what they might experience in the wild?  Any thoughts on this?  How about a paved hillock that requires a steep ascent and down again? Thanks for any ideas.

Broken up concrete slabs from sidewalks and driveways can probably be had for free if you do the hauling.

Im thinking if it hasnt been done it might be worth the experiment.

Walking on limestone rip-rap files down my dog's claws quite nicely.

Thanks for that Jordan.

Something like that?

Hooves will adapt to the normal wear and surfaces they are exposed to daily and still grow to long. I see the same happen in both my sheep and my horses. Switching surface every 1-2 months or so for a week from pasture to a hard surface will wear the hooves down without (much) trimming, but constant exposure to such surfaces growth and therefore less wear will ensue and you'll still be trimming every few months.

Better trim more often, that makes for less work per trim, and makes it easier to make some kind of stand to put them on for trimming (and sheering). Way of keeping won't get you out of trimming, wild animals make way more miles a day, have a different diet and bad feet gets them eaten. So our lifestock will always require at least some trimming.

I drive mine down a gravel driveway on a regular basis.